For today’s Woodworking Sessions Review I am smoking the Casdagli Cigars Traditional Line Super Belicoso. This is a cigar I am quite familiar with and have featured in the Whiskey & Whitetails Body Builder Sampler on Small Batch Cigar. I am usually not partial to large ring gauge cigars, however, the belicoso shape makes it more comfortable. This is, in my opinion, the best vitola in the Traditional Line. Part of the reason I went with a cigar I am quite familiar with is because I am going to be doing the most stressful part of guitar body building for me.
I am going to be drilling the string through holes on the Whiskey & Whitetails Whiskey Barrel Guitar. This requires ⅛” holes to be drilled perfectly straight through the 1 ¾” body. If the bit flexes and wanders, then the strings won’t be spaced correctly on the top of the body. If they aren’t started on the back with the proper spacing, then counterbores for the string ferrules will be troublesome. On the back, I then have to concentrically drill a 5/16” counterbore, followed by a ⅜” counterbore at these string locations.
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Kelner Boutique Factory
Wrapper: Dominican Cotui
Binder: Kelner Family Reserve (Dominican)
Filler: USA Pennsylvania Broadleaf, Dominican, Nicaraguan, & Peruvian
Vitola: 5.7” x 60 Belicoso
Price: $16.50 MSRP
Release Date: July 2018
Company Website: www.casdaglicigars.com
This cigar has a very firm and dense feel. The wrapper is very toothy and medium brown with a slight reddish hue. The foot of the cigar is completely covered with wrapper leaf. I like the Traditional Line band design and colors. The cigar smells like livestock sweet feed and the cold draw is tangy and a bit sour. It reminds me of some kind of sauce used in Asian cuisine. First light brings loads of thick, full bodied smoke with full flavors of wood, some baking spices, bread, and a raisin or date like sweetness. The retrohale has a lot of citrus sweetness, some pepper, and a bit of bread. About a half inch in there is a bit of a tannic note coming in. An inch in I needed to do a little touch up because of a slight canoe. The draw is starting to become sweeter and citric. Moving into the second third the pepper is coming up a tick. There is still wood, citrus, and baking spices on the draw as well. The one side of the cigar continues to lag a bit and needs another little touch up. The draw has been perfect so far. The flavor and body are still at a full level. Nearing halfway there’s a big shift towards coffee and milk chocolate. The finish is holding onto some wood and spices. The second third comes to an end with the burn back in line and going strong. The profile is back to the wood, baking spices, and citrus with the addition of some grassiness. Into the final third the retrohale is starting to show a bit of cocoa and pepper with a creamy texture and flavor. The draw flavors are becoming more coffee-esque again. The tannins are coming up a touch. Hitting the band the strength is up to about a medium. It’s very woody with some tannins, pepper, and earth. This Super Belicoso comes to an end at about 2 hours and 2 minutes with no noticeable flavor changes.
Overall Experience
This cigar always makes for an enjoyable experience. There is plenty of flavor without any one note overpowering the palate. There are also some nice transitions throughout the length of the cigar with home base being the wood, baking spices, and citrus. The retrohale is notable on this cigar as well because it is quite easy going and adds a lot of flavor to the smoking experience. Overall, this is a cigar I will continue to return to and would recommend to somebody looking for a full flavor and body cigar at a medium strength level. I’m sure the price tag of this cigar can be a bit of a barrier to entry for some, however, there is a lot of tobacco in this vitola and you get a pretty long smoke time out of this. I should also note, this is a great cigar to pair with coffee.
Try the cigar yourself at Small Batch Cigars and let me know what you think! Use code “Whiskey” to get 10% off your entire order. Plus, sign up and begin earning 5% back in rewards points with each purchase.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or via email at trevor@whiskeyandwhitetails.com.